Random From Debauchery To Federal Crimes: Outrageous Tales Of Bad Behavior From History's Greatest Athletes (15 items)

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  (#3) Darryl Strawberry

  • 56

  In 2016, former MLB outfielder Darryl Strawberry told a radio talk show host that he used to sleep with fans in between innings, as well as drink and smoke in the dugout.

  Strawberry also had a long history of drug abuse and arrests. His first run-in with the law took place in Tampa, Florida, after he was found in possession of cocaine and tried to solicit sex from an undercover cop in 1999. Following these incidents, he was suspended from baseball and received probation and community service from the court.

  The following year, he passed out while driving, high on pain killers prescribed for his cancer treatments. After colliding with another car, he tried to flee the scene but was later arrested and taken to jail. In 2001, Strawberry was arrested once again when he arrived at a Tampa hospital after being missing from his court-ordered rehab for several days. He was in and out of rehab throughout 2001 and 2002.
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  (#8) Ryan Lochte

  • 34

  During the 2016 Rio Olympics, US swimmer Ryan Lochte claimed that he and several other US athletes were robbed at gunpoint while walking around Rio:

  "We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over...they pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground – they got down on the ground. I refused, I was like we didn't do anything wrong, so – I'm not getting down on the ground. And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, 'Get down,' and I put my hands up, I was like 'whatever.' He took our money, he took my wallet—he left my cell phone, he left my credentials."

  The robbery was later called into question due to inconsistencies, though Lochte continued to claim that his story was true.

  When a video revealed that Lochte and the other athletes broke down a door at a gas station and fought with the attendant, the story fell apart. Lochte, already back in the US, was charged with filing a false police report while the other athletes were fined and ordered to leave the country. Brazilian authorities threw out the charges against Lochte.
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  (#11) Peter Storey

  • 73

  Peter Storey, who played midfielder for the Manchester Arsenal F.C. in the '70s, needed money in the beginning of the decade due to poor investments. After becoming involved with counterfeiters, getting arrested, and eventually being released on bail, Storey founded a brothel called the Calypso Massage Parlour.

  He was arrested again in 1979, received a suspended sentence, and was fined £700.  He was sentenced to three years in jail for counterfeiting scheme and, ten years later, was arrested for smuggling pornographic videos from Europe to England in the spare tire of his car. He served over two years in jail for the crime. 
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  (#6) Tonya Harding

  • 48

  Figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding were two of the biggest names in the 1994 Winter Olympics. Drama and speculation erupted, however, when Kerrigan, slated to win the Norway competition, was struck in the knee with a police baton, wounding her and limiting her skating mobility. Fingers immediately pointed towards Harding, the underdog of the competition and Kerrigan's most-publicized competitor. Later investigations revealed that Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, had hired a hit man, Shane Stant, to attack Kerrigan.

  Despite her injury, Kerrigan won silver in the Lillehammer competition. Shane Stant, as well as his driver, Derrick Smith, and Shawn Eckhardt, Harding's occasional bodyguard, were indicted, each receiving 18-month terms. Gillooly received two years. 

  While popular misconception often casts Harding herself as Kerrigan's attacker, no evidence exists that Harding was directly involved. She did, however, receive three years' probation for conspiring to hinder the prosecution.
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  (#1) Dock Ellis

  • Dec. at 63 (1945-2008)

  Dock Ellis, pitcher for the Pittsburg Pirates, threw a no-hitter on June 12, 1970. Spectators were unaware at the time that he was actually high on LSD during the game. Ellis was no stranger to drugs, as he'd been pitching on pills since he played in the minor leagues. The day of the no-hitter, however, caught even Ellis himself off-guard.

  Ellis took a substantial amount of LSD on his day off, which resulted in him almost missing the infamous game. Ellis said of his time on the mound,

  "I really didn’t see the hitters. All I could tell was if they were on the right side, or the left side. As far as seeing the target, the catcher put tape on his fingers so I could see the signals. The opposing team and my teammates, they knew I was high. But they didn’t know what I was high on. They didn’t really see it, but I had the acid in me, and I didn’t know what I looked like with that acid. I had lost all concept of time."
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  (#4) Clifford Etienne

  • 48

  In 2005, boxer Clifford Etienne robbed a check-cashing facility in Baton Rouge, LA. After taking $1,900, he attempted to hijack a car with two children inside. He then attempted to hijack a second car also containing two children but wrecked the second vehicle. When police responded to the incidents, Etienne tried to fire at the two officers, but his weapon jammed. 

  In court, his lawyer tried to argue both that he was high during the offenses, and that he had suffered brain damage from his years of fighting, but the jury rejected these excuses. Etienne was sentenced to 150 years with no chance of parole.

  His claim to fame prior to his arrest was being knocked out by Mike Tyson in only 49 seconds.

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